


Out of Town

by superstringtheory



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Caretaking, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Character, Sickfic, Vacation, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-17 16:02:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16099019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superstringtheory/pseuds/superstringtheory
Summary: Prompt from an anon on tumblr: “Bughead saving up for a romantic vacation only to have Jug get sick the second they get there. Trying to hide it from Betty as to not ruin their trip, forcing himself to eat even though he feels like throwing up. Skin hot like a furnace, dry from dehydration. And finally Betts giving him tummy rubs when she figures it out. Can you just Imagine?”





	Out of Town

He’s never been on a plane before, so he figures that maybe it’s normal to feel hot and then cold.  Consistently nauseated, clammy. Maybe he’s just nervous? 

 

Except that the feeling doesn’t abate when they’re walking through the airport or getting in an Uber. Betty seems to see that Jughead’s feeling overwhelmed so she’s taken the lead, tugging him along past all of the other gates and people waiting to go other places and summoning a car to come and pick them up.

 

They’d gotten up early to go to the airport, and so Betty doesn’t seem to see anything amiss with Jughead wanting to take a nap almost as soon as they get to their Airbnb. It’s a cute little house, but he doesn’t even take time to appreciate it for anything beyond the bed. He’s asleep nearly the moment his head touches the pillow, but when he wakes up, his phone says only twenty minutes have passed. 

 

His stomach feels uneasy and his head is pounding, but again, maybe that’s just how it is with air travel? He can convince himself of that, and there’s no need to worry Betty unnecessarily- this is their first vacation together, and Jughead’s first real vacation at all, and he knows how excited she is about both of those things. There’s no reason to ruin it over feeling a little off. 

 

“I Yelped us a restaurant we can walk to that sounds good,” Betty says when Jughead emerges from the bedroom. “All you’ve had to eat today are airline pretzels, so I’m sure you’re hungry.” 

 

Jughead swallows. “Uh, sure.” He can try to be hungry. Maybe that’s what this feeling is-- hunger? (Except normally he’s ravenous, ready for a burger pretty much any time of day or night, and now he feels like he could never eat again and he’d be fine. Happier, even.) 

 

Betty pats the hotel sofa cushion next to her, then pulls Jughead in close to her once he sits down. She leans her head on his shoulder, and Jughead fights back a shiver. 

 

“I’m proud of you.” Betty’s murmur feels nice against his collarbone, and maybe they could just stay here? He could sleep this funk off and wake up refreshed instead of more exhausted, bright-eyed and ready to be a tourist with his love. 

 

Instead, Jughead leans into Betty for another moment, then stands, tugging her up with him. “How about this restaurant?” he says. “I’m starved.”

*** 

 

“Think of it like an early birthday gift,” Veronica had said. “Really, it’s not a big deal.” To Jughead, it would never stop being a big deal that other people never had to worry about being evicted from their houses every month, much less waving around some free airline vouchers and saying, “Just tell me where you want to go”-- but after all that’s happened in Riverdale, who is he to judge? 

 

“So where would you like to go?” Betty’d asked, curled up in bed like a Siamese kitten. “If you could choose.” 

 

The vouchers were for any round-trip, domestic first class air travel. “Just pick a long weekend,” Veronica had breezed. “Then let me know and I’ll have it arranged.” 

 

“Anywhere not here,” Jughead had said instantly, so vehemently he was a little embarrassed. Truth be told, he didn’t hate Riverdale all that much-- it’d brought him to Betty-- but he certainly didn’t want to vacation somewhere Riverdale-esque. 

 

“So… beach? Desert? Cornfields?” Betty’d laughed at Jughead’s expression at just the first suggestion. “We could get sunscreen.” 

 

“There’s not enough sunscreen in existence for that.” 

 

Betty’d covered her still-laughing mouth with her hand, presumably picturing the juxtaposition of Jughead in skimpy swimwear and a beanie. 

 

“... Not that I wouldn’t mind seeing you in a bikini…” He’d tackled her then, and then they’d been distracted, and in the end they’d decided on Boston. It wasn’t New York, but it certainly wasn’t Riverdale. Plenty of history to nerd out over, museums to ogle, and seafood to try. 

 

*** 

 

Speaking of seafood, the restaurant Betty Yelped turns out to be for “lobstah.” 

 

“You’re going to love it, Jug.” Betty squeezes his hand across the table, and Jughead manages a smile that he hopes doesn’t look forced or sickly. 

 

(Sick? He’s not sick. Just-- nauseated. Chilly, but also too hot. Tired?) 

 

“You okay?” Betty’s forehead pinches in concern, and Jughead realizes he hadn’t responded to her. 

 

“Yeah,” he says a beat too late. “I’m sure I will. And I’m fine-- just not used to air travel.” He reaches for her hand and grasps it with both of his, like this gesture can convince her. 

 

“Okay,” Betty says. “But I think you look a little pale. Maybe you should take another nap before we go out to a museum.” 

 

“Sure.” Jughead nods mechanically, trying not to let Betty see just how wonderful that suggestion sounds right now. 

 

And then their food arrives, and it’s all Jughead can do to juggle a normal conversation with Betty and forcing down bites of food that he’s sure would be delicious at any other time. 

 

There’s a throbbing over his right eye, and he has to set down his fork and just breathe for a moment. 

 

“Hey, Jug?” A hint of panic tinges Betty’s voice. “You okay?” 

 

Jughead hadn’t realized he’d let his eyes slip shut, but he supposes that now the ruse is up. 

 

“Betty,” he says, very quietly, very calmly as he stands up. “I’ll be right back.” 

 

And then he runs to the restroom and vomits up everything he’s eaten today and possibly ever. 

 

*** 

 

Jughead doesn’t even have to walk back to their table when he’s done- Betty catches him outside the door of the men’s room and steers him gently but firmly towards the door. 

 

“I got the check,” she says. “And an Uber’s on the way.” 

 

Any other time, Jughead would’ve voiced how much he appreciated her resourcefulness. For now he just lets her lead him into the backseat of a car and rests against her shoulder until she hauls him up and out of the car and back into their home-away-from-home Airbnb. 

 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?” she asks after he’s been firmly tucked into bed, mouth rinsed, forehead felt and tsked over. Her hands play with the comforter and she avoids his gaze. “I want you to feel like you can trust me, Jug.” 

 

“I can,” he says, then amends it. “I  _ do _ . I just”-- he sighs. “I didn’t want to ruin our vacation. And I thought it might go away.” 

 

At that, Betty laughs. “Jug. Jesus. I care more about you than I do any trip. This isn’t our only vacation together; just the first. Don’t ever worry about telling me how you feel.” 

 

Jughead blinks suddenly, then sniffs hard to cover it up. “I’d kiss you right now if I weren’t so gross.” 

 

“Shh,” Betty shushes him, then presses a soft kiss to his clammy forehead. “Let me go get you some medicine and then I’ll come back and we can watch a movie and I’ll rub your tummy. Okay?” 

 

Jughead nods, relaxing back into the pillows. It’s not exactly what he pictured his first vacation as, but as it is, he wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

 

*****

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr at superstringtheory.tumblr.com! I always love getting sickfic prompts. :)


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